Nothingism

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A philosophical doctrine or perspective asserting that nothing truly exists or that existence itself is void of inherent meaning or substance
2. A metaphysical or nihilistic stance holding that nothingness is fundamental or that all things lack genuine being or significance
3. A theoretical position claiming that non-existence or the absence of meaning constitutes reality's ultimate nature or truth

Etymology: "Nothingism" is a plain compound: "nothing" combined with the suffix "-ism," which forms nouns for doctrines, systems of belief, or characteristic attitudes. The result names a view or outlook centred on nothingness, the idea that nothing has ultimate reality or value. The suffix does most of the work here. "-ism" arrived in English through Latin and Greek, where it marked a practice, a doctrine, or a state, and English writers have attached it freely to ordinary words, from "Buddhism" to "consumerism." Attaching it to "nothing" follows that same pattern, producing a label for a position rather than a thing. Because the word is built transparently from its parts, its meaning is largely predictable from them, and it has remained a term used in philosophical and critical discussion rather than in everyday speech.